


Prince Turned Pirate

by purplecrayons



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Minor Violence, Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2013-07-03
Packaged: 2017-12-17 14:44:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/868738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplecrayons/pseuds/purplecrayons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Prince? Prince Louis? As in the son of the man who has hunted and prosecuted us pirates?  You're Prince Louis?”  Captain Styles asks.   His voice is calm but his eyes glint with anger.  Maybe disbelief too.  I look away from him and look down at my shoes instead.  “Lou?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'm a Pirate, not a Prince!

**Author's Note:**

> ~2,600 words in this part.   
> Oh and Eleanor and George only appear a tiny bit in part 2 so don't worry if you're the kinda of person who gets their panties in a twist about that kind of stuff.  
> I own none of this but the wording, ideas and I really want a sword.  
> Tumblr: all5guysof1d.tumblr.com

The ship lurches under my feet as a cannon ball hits its mark.  Scraps of wood cut my skin and I grab the rail in front of me.  I finish off my challenger, a short greasy man before racing to the prow of the ship.  There, I can see my captain, Captain Styles, taking on two pirates from the opposing crew.

I slice one in the back to get his attention.  When he turns around, I realize that he’s not only a pirate from the other crew _,_ he’s the captain of it.  It’s clear to both of us that I picked the wrong fight.  He’s much more experienced than I and has me on defense within seconds.  I parry blow after blow.  My whole body is aching and tired.  My opponent slashes his sword down my arm, forcing me to drop my weapon.  He’s swinging his sword down for the killing blow when he pauses.

“Prince Louis?” he asks.

The look of surprise and horror on my face must have given me away because he grins.

“You’re alive! Everyone has thought you were dead for months!”  He grabs my arm and pulls me through the fighting masses.  “You’re worth a lot to the king.  You’re coming with me.”  I fight against his grip.  “You should be grateful, I’m taking you home.”

“No! I don’t want to go back!  I want to be free.  Surely you, a pirate, can understand that?”

Saying this makes him falter and that’s long enough for me to wrench out of his grip and run.  Just as I reach Captain Styles, who just dispatched another opponent, I hear the other pirate captain shouting behind me,

“Capture the Prince!  It’s Prince Louis! Get the Prince!”

That gets everyone’s attention.  Some pause and several members of the other crew abandon their fights to come after me.  My crewmates take their opponent’s distractions as an advantage and obtain the upper hand in the battle.  Seeing this, the other crew’s captain calls for retreat,

“Everyone get back to our ship!  We’ll find another way to get the prince.”

As they retreat back to their ship and it disappears into the horizon, all of the attention turns back to me.  No one says anything at first.  Everyone stands there and waits, not knowing what to do.   This includes Captain Styles who stares at me.  The air is full of tension and I shift uncomfortably under all of the unwanted attention.  This is the one thing that I had hoped would never happen. The truth is being revealed.

“Prince? Prince Louis? As in the son of the man who has hunted and prosecuted us pirates?”  Captain Styles asks.   His voice is calm but his eyes glint with anger.  I look away from him and look down at my shoes instead.  “Lou?”

“Yes” I answer.  It’s barely more than a whisper but I gain more confidence.  I shouldn’t be ashamed of who I am! “Yes, I’m Prince Louis!  That doesn’t change anything though, it…”

I look up and see the crew, standing there and I pause.  Some have looks of disbelief.  Others have looks of betrayal.  The Captain is calm but the crew is losing their patience.  They begin to yell and raise their weapons in the air.  Captain Styles holds his hand up and the crew quiets.

“Lock him in the brig.”

“What?  No!  Captain Styles!”  I yell as Liam and Niall take me by my arms and walk me down to the brig.  I struggle and continue to shout at the Captain.  “Styles!” I scream one last time before they take me below deck.  It’s only after I say it, that I realize I didn’t use his title.  It surprises me and apparently Styles too because before they close the door behind me, I can see his head snap towards me.  It’s the first time he shows emotion on his face in this whole ordeal, but I can’t decipher what that emotion is.

I’m left confused, tired and in the brig.  I can’t get the betrayed looks out of my head.  Liam was one of those faces.  He’s the one who taught me how to fight.

_A hard hit to the stomach makes me drop to my hands and knees, gasping for breath.  My whole body aches and I can feel a bruise forming on my right cheek._

_“We’ve been practicing for hours now Lou!  Let’s take a break.  Once you get some rest you’ll be able to do it.”_

_“No Liam, I need to learn this if I’m going to be of any help to you” I say.  As I stand up and wipe the sweat off my face.  “I don’t want to be a burden.”_

_“You’re not a burden, Lou.”  Liam comforts.  He comes and takes the sword out of my hand.  “Besides, you’re already a good pirate.”_

_“I don’t want to be a good pirate.  I want to be a great pirate.”  I respond before taking my sword back and holding it up, ready for another try._

I must have fallen asleep at some point because I wake up to the metal door of my cell creaking open.  In comes Niall, who puts a bowl of rations down on the floor without even looking at me.  He starts to leave before I take his arm and say,

“Wait. Niall?  Niall look at me.  I’m still that little boy you found living on the streets.  I’m still a pirate.” 

He pulls his arm away and glares at me.

“If you really are the Prince, you were never a pirate!  I brought you here because I thought you needed help.  I saw myself in you and I pitied you.  But it turns out you could have just gone home to the palace and bathed in gilded baths and paraded around in expensive clothes.”

His words stun me and I let him leave.  Once he’s gone, I sit down and cry.  I don’t feel any better once my sobbing stops.  If nothing else, I’m more certain that I just lost my brother.

_I’m so tired I can barely pull on the clothes that Niall gives me.  He’s taller and more muscular than me, so his clothes are a little large.  They’re the best option I have since the rest of the crew is about twice my size.  I hope we can sleep soon.  I just want this day to be over.  I had been on the streets for about a week, when Niall found me this morning.  Or more like when I found him.  I had tried to steal his change purse and he brought me here.  To a pirate ship of all places!  To be a pirate!_

_“You can go to bed if you want.  I still have duties to carry out but I’ll be in a bit later.” Niall says with a smile.  “It’s nice to have someone new on the ship.  We’re going to be great friends!” He pauses for a second and his smile grows even larger.  “We’re going to be brothers!”_

I spent a week in the brig before Captain Styles came to see me.  He sits down on the opposite side of the cell from me and just looks at me.  I don’t bother saying anything.  After Niall, I have lost hope on convincing anyone that I should be free.  Styles doesn’t say anything either.  He just keeps looking at me until apparently he decides it’s enough, gets up and leaves. 

This continues for three days before he sits down on my side of the cell and puts his head in his hands.  And then he cries.  Nothing large and dramatic, it’s just pure sadness.  It unnerves me.  Captain Styles is supposed to be a tough and fierce pirate!  He’s not supposed to be crying.

I don’t know what to do so I just sit there next to him.  Once he finishes he looks at me and says,

“Oh Lou, why?  Why?”

“I wanted to be free.” I answer, tears welling up in my eyes.  “I thought you would kill me if you knew who I was.”

“You’re right I would have.  I know better now.  You’re a great pirate, Lou.  You’re also a great friend.  However, I can’t ignore this.  The crew is getting anxious.  Some want to give you another chance and some of them want to you die.”

“What do you want?” I ask.

            “I don’t know.  That’s why I’ve been coming down here.  I’ve been hoping to find answers.”  With that he leaves me to sit alone, in silence, listening to the ship moan and creak.

             _“Why were you living on the streets?” Captain Styles asks._

_“My father is cruel and unfair, not only to me but to everyone.  I wanted to be free and to live a life without someone ordering me around.”  It’s the truth just not the whole truth._

_“We’re more alike than you think.”_

_“I’m not a monster!”  I exclaim._

_“I know.”  He answers before acknowledging the look of surprise on my face.  “Lou, no one on this ship is like the pirates you hear about in children’s stories.  We aren’t selfish, cruel and ruthless murderers.  Everyone on this ship came to be a pirate because they wanted to be free.  We, as pirates, protect that freedom in our battles, sometimes with our life.  That is what being a pirate is about, not killing.”_

Two days more pass before I see Styles again.  This time he asks Liam to bring me to his quarters.  This time, Captain Styles is furious.

            “I can’t believe it!  How did you get the message to your father?  How did you tell him where we are?” he snarls.

            “I haven’t spoken to my father since I left!”  I respond, my own anger flaring.  “Why would I?  I ran away because I wanted to be free!  I became a pirate because of it!  You know that.  You’re the one who taught me about truly being free!”

            “Yes! And I shouldn’t have because now your father’s navy is coming for us!  You betrayed all of us!  Whether you meant to or not you put all of us and our hard earned freedom at risk.”

            “I didn’t mean to!  I don’t know how my father found out!”

            “I don’t have time for your lies anymore.”

            “Harry!  You have to believe me. I’m not lying.” I say.  Captin Styles freezes at his first name.  Even I can hear the desperation in my voice. The Captain MUST believe me. 

            Before he replies Liam pushes through the door.

            “Captain, we’re ready.  We’ll meet the king’s ship in less than a minute.”

            The Captain doesn’t say anything else.  He just strides out of the room after ordering Liam to tie me to the chair.  And so I have to sit, unable to do anything as I listen to my friends being hurt and killed as the battle ensues.

            I cry and scream and try to wrench myself free of my bonds.  I can’t get free.  Frustrated and out of breath I stop struggling and curse Styles.  Damn him for tying me up instead of believing me.  Damn him for not letting me defend the life that is now mine!  No matter what he or anyone else thinks, I AM a pirate!

            Right then the door to the cabin is kicked in and a man from my father’s navy walks in.

            “Prince Louis?” he asks.  He must not recognize me.  After everything that’s happened I must look horrible.

           “Yes!  Now come untie me!” I say.

            He does a quick bow, which I have to work to not roll my eyes at, before he scurries over and cuts my bonds with his sword.

            As soon as he clears away the rope, I launch myself at him.  Unprepared, he drops his sword and we fall to the ground, wrestling.  I bite, kick and punch anything within my reach.  Finally, I land a blow to his stomach leaving him gasping for breath.  That gives me enough time to grasp his sword and stand up.  Leveling the sword with his heart I thrust it forward when he lunges at me.

            I pull the sword out of his chest. I’m ready to go and help my friends defend the ship, when Captain Styles sprints in.  He takes one look at the navy man on the floor and the bloodied sword in my hand and says, “Well, come on then.  You’re of no use just standing there.” And with that he’s out the door again.

            When I get out onto the deck, I realize that it’s not just navy men that my crew is fighting but pirates too.  They’ve joined forces.  The battle ends only a few minutes later with our crew driving the remaining men of the other crews back to their ship.

            “What is he doing here?”  Zayn, a member of our crew asks.

            “He has killed a man of his father’s navy that was trying to save him.  He fought for us, defending our ship and more importantly our freedom.  He’s as much of a pirate as any of us are.  If anyone has any problems with that, you come take it up with me.”

            “But what about him betraying us to his father?” Zayn asks.

            “All of you noticed that there were pirates among the navy men.   Some of them were the ones that attacked us not too long ago and first recognized Louis as the Prince.  They must have met with a captain of one of his father’s military ships and gave him information of our whereabouts in exchange for a pardon.  Lou is not at fault, he never was.  The only thing he is at fault for is not liking the life he was born into.  He is a pirate.”

            And so for the next week I sleep back in my cabin with Niall and life seems back to normal.  I can’t help but feel uneasy though.  Some of my friends died because of me.  I know my father will not give up.  Others will die.  So I go to Styles and do the most challenging thing yet.

“We may have defeated my father once but he’s persistent.  He will try again and with more force.”

“I know Lou, we will be ready,” he replies.  “We’ll keep you safe.”

He gathers me in a hug supposed to comfort but only makes the next thing I say harder.

“You don’t understand me.  You may be ready but more of you will die.  My father will not rest until he gets me back.  I’ve decided when the next attack force comes, there will be no battle.  I’ll leave with them and go back to my father.”

            Styles pulls back from the hug and stares at me.

            “I thought this is what you wanted, to be free.” He says.

            “It is, but I can’t do that if I have my father is chasing me and putting my friends at risk.  I’ll negotiate my return to my father in exchange for him no longer hunting you.  One day I’ll become King.  Then, I will pardon the pirates of this ship.  You’re not blood thirsty savages like my father thinks.  You’re people who just want to be free.  You’re people just like me.  I’m going back to my father.”

            “Are you sure?” Styles asks.

            “No of course not,” I say.  “But it’s the only way I can see to save you and the crew.”

            “Well as much as I don’t want you to go I can see that I can’t change your mind,” he says.  He pulls me back into the hug before kissing me softly.  “All I can say is thank you.  I’ll miss you, we all will.  And as far as I’m concerned, you’re the most selfless and bravest pirate I’ve ever known.  You are a pirate an you will always have a **home** on my ship.”


	2. Going Home... Finally.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thirty years have passed and I stare out the window of the King’s rooms. MY rooms. I can see the ocean from here. I long for it. I long for the pirate ship I left all of those years ago. For the pirate Captain I left behind with it. I had pardoned all of the pirates on Harry’s ship after I became king. They say I’m a good and fair king. Maybe that is true, it is definitely what I strive for, but in the end its not who I am. I want to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ~1000 word part two of my pirate story. Why only 1000 words? Because it was just supposed to be a short little paragraph at the end of my pirate one shot to tie everything together but WHAM! it turned into a 1000 words part two.  
> You know the drill. I own nothing but the vanilla ice cream i'm eating.  
> Tumblr: all5guysof1d.tumblr.com

_Thirty years_ have passed and I stare out the window of the King’s rooms.  MY rooms.  I can see the ocean from here.  I long for it.  I long for the pirate ship I left all of those years ago.  For the pirate Captain I left behind with it.  I had pardoned all of the pirates on Harry’s ship after I became king.  They say I’m a good and fair king.  Maybe that is true, it is definitely what I strive for, but in the end its not who I am. I want to go home.

My wife, Queen Eleanor, is in the chair behind me holding a conversation with my son, George.  Eleanor is a wonderful wife.  She’s kind and wise and has all the qualities a good queen needs.  But she’s not HIM.  She’s not Harry.  What’s done is done though, and there is no going back. 

George is the prince now and he is of age.  He will be a great ruler someday.  I’m about to turn around to join the conversation when I spot a ship off in the distance.  My heart skips a beat because I know that it’s Harry’s ship.

“Are you ok, Louis?” Eleanor asks.

“I’m perfectly ok.  Actually I’m better than okay,” I say.  I can’t hide the huge grin on my face.

“I walk over to El and kiss her cheek.  To George I say, “You’ll make a fine ruler, son.  Don’t forget to be fair.  Especially to the pirates.”  I take the crown off of my head and place it on my son’s.

“Why?  Louis what’s going on?  What are you doing?” El asks.

“I’m going **home** ,” I say.  I can hardly believe it.  After all of these years of dreaming an impossible dream it will come true.  I will get to go to the pirate ship that I was promised to always have a home on.  I will get to go to the man who offered that home to me.  I’m going home to Harry.

“Dad?”  George says.  He’s looking at me wide eyes and has a hand up to touch the new crown on his head.

“Don’t worry about me and don’t come after me.  This is what I want.  This is what I have wanted for my whole life.  A chance to be free.  I know at some point in your life you might want the same thing.  If you do, feel free to search me out.  Make sure the kingdom is left in the right hands though.  We don’t want a repeat of your grandfather,” I say with a playful wink.

“Where will you get this freedom you speak of?” El asks. I point out the window to the now docked ship.

“There.”

“On a pirate ship?” she says.

“Yes.  I have always been and always will be a pirate!  And now I am going home.”

I pull off my expensive tunic and put on more simple clothes with the addition of several knifes and swords.

“Are you crazy?” El asks.

“Maybe so.” I say breathlessly as I hurry to the door.  “Remember that you will always be in my heart.”

And then I run.  As I near the castle gates I yell at the guards to open them up.  They give me questioning looks and hesitate but open them right before I reach them.  I run through and head to the docks.  I’m breathless by the time I reach them but I don’t stop until I near Harry’s ship.  What if he doesn’t accept me back?  What about the crew? What about the life I’m leaving behind?  I forget all of that when a head of curly hair covered in a pirate hat comes into view.

“Harry!” I yell.  I start running again.  When he hears his name his read snaps around to search for me. 

He can barely ask, “Lou?” before I run into him.  We hug tightly and then he’s kissing my lips.  I can’t breathe but I don’t care.  My mind is full of HARRY HARRY HARRY.  He breaks the kiss to look down at me. 

“Welcome home, Pirate Lou.”

We are broke out of our blissful state when a cough sounds behind us.  We turn around to see Liam, Zayn and Niall standing there.  They are all smiling.

“We missed you Louis!” Niall says beaming.

We head up the gangplank to the deck.  The rest of the crew greets me with smiles and claps to the back.  Harry gives orders to make way and I crawl up the netting to the hawks nest.  I’m about halfway up when there’s a commotion on the dock.  It’s George, El and the king’s guard.

They stare up at the ship scanning the deck for me before their eyes land on me.  At first I panic.  I told them not to come after me!  I climb back down a few feet before jumping to the deck.  I go to stand at the edge with Harry.

“They’ve come for you.  To take you away from me again.”  Harry says.  He’s no longer smiling.

“I won’t let them take me.” I say.

He’s about to reply when we both stop and have to do a double take.  They’re waving.  They’re waving at me as we leave port.  Some of the crew even wave back.  Harry notices and raises his sword.  He starts up a pirate chant and everyone joins in as we leave.  I join in the singing and waving. I watch my family for as long as I can.  Most of the pirates go back to their tasks once the song is up.

 As we get out of range of sight Harry comes back up to me.  He gives me and hug before kissing me lightly.  And then he’s laughing and I’m laughing and before I know it I’m crying out of happiness.  I made it **home**.  Home, finally.  It’s about damn time.

 

[ _Tumblr_ ](all5guysof1d.tumblr.com)


End file.
